I Fratelli dishes up soul-satisfying Italian fare

Bill Daley

Published
4:00 am PST, Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Event on 3/11/04 in San Francisco.
I Fratelli, 1896 Hyde St., a long-running neighborhood restaurant. (there were no customers in the restaurant for the hour I was there.)
Liz Mangelsdorf / The Chronicle

Event on 3/11/04 in San Francisco.
I Fratelli, 1896 Hyde St., a long-running neighborhood restaurant. (there were no customers in the restaurant for the hour I was there.)
Liz Mangelsdorf / The Chronicle

Photo: Liz Mangelsdorf

Photo: Liz Mangelsdorf

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Event on 3/11/04 in San Francisco.
I Fratelli, 1896 Hyde St., a long-running neighborhood restaurant. (there were no customers in the restaurant for the hour I was there.)
Liz Mangelsdorf / The Chronicle

Event on 3/11/04 in San Francisco.
I Fratelli, 1896 Hyde St., a long-running neighborhood restaurant. (there were no customers in the restaurant for the hour I was there.)
Liz Mangelsdorf / The Chronicle

Photo: Liz Mangelsdorf

I Fratelli dishes up soul-satisfying Italian fare

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In the men's room of I Fratelli, the 25-year-old Russian Hill restaurant, hangs a large poster for an Italian liqueur. Neatly scratched into the poster's plastic sheath are the words, "This place sucks." Who knows how long this verdict from an unhappy customer has been on display -- can I really be the first to notice? Judging from my recent visits, the graffiti just isn't true.

I Fratelli may be outshined by the knowing rusticity of Frascati across the street, and the nearby Sushi Groove takes the cake for a sexy, zesty vibe, but I Fratelli dishes out reliable takes on Italian standards in a dark, cozy setting.

Ample starter

Start off a meal with the toasted Italian garlic bread ($3.95), an ample half-loaf served steaming hot and aromatic. The crust is crusty, the interior has a structure neither overly chewy nor coarse, and the whole is permeated with garlic. The antipasto misto for two ($12.95) seems pricey at first for an array of grilled vegetables, sliced prosciutto, sauteed spinach, olives, capers and melon, but the components work well together.

The spinach, which is offered as an appetizer in its own right and served cold, is dark, dark green and sparked with olive oil and lemon juice. It's reminiscent of oshitashi, the Japanese spinach appetizer.

A saute of clams and mussels ($7.95) is served up in the shell. The mollusks were fresh enough and not overcooked, but more oomph -- garlic or more white wine, perhaps -- would have set off their briny flavor.

Ahi tuna, sliced tissue-thin, makes for a light but satisfying carpaccio. The ruddy tuna is anointed with extra virgin olive oil and topped with enough minced onion, lemon wedges and Parmesan cheese to accent the fish without overwhelming it.

There's an assortment of plate-size salads, portioned smaller than an entree salad but larger than an appetizer or side salad. The spinach salad ($4. 95) is garnished with crumbled feta, orange segments and toasted pine nuts in a subtle citrus dressing. The spinach leaves are crisp and fresh, but what wins my heart are the pine nuts with their deep flavor.

"La Quattordici" salad ($4.95) is a mix of arugula, radicchio, Belgian endive and Gorgonzola. It was fine, but the dressing was so unevenly applied that some leaves were dry and others were drenched. Plus the strong mustard vinaigrette burned away any other flavor.

I Fratelli generally succeeds with pastas like pappardelle festooned with rounds of grilled lamb, porcini, olives and feta cheese ($14.90).

At first glance, the cannelloni alla balsamella ($11.90) looks like a pumped-up burrito and promises to be almost as heavy, with a filling of beef, ricotta and mascarpone cheeses, and sauced in bechamel and bolognese. It works, though, and seems surprisingly light. The beef and cheese filling is finely minced and works together so well that it almost puffs inside the pasta shell.

Good-looker

Linguine alle vongole ($14.90) is a looker, with the clams served on the half shell with olive oil, lemon and garlic. Too bad the clams tasted a little tired and flat this time out.

Petrale sole ($17.90) works its quiet magic in a buttery lemon sauce strewn with capers. The fish is moist and fried to a light golden brown, and deep-hued green beans provide a counterpoint.

Rock shrimp, arugula and avocado cubes stud the risotto "al zafferano" ($16.90). It's a good-looking mix and the shrimp and avocado give the dish richness, but the risotto lacked the requisite creaminess.

A small assortment of desserts round out the menu. Crema di formaggio ($6. 50) is a cooling, creamy flan garnished with fresh berries. Gelati ($4.50) come in various flavors, including a plush chocolate hazelnut that boasts plenty of richness. The tiramisu ($6.50) is a neat cube of sponge cake layered with mascarpone cheese.

Service is casual and friendly, in keeping with the spirit of the place. Servers stop by occasionally to check on things, but mostly they're there when you need them. From the front, the dining room looks small and dark. It's surprising to find there's a rear section to what is actually an L-shaped room. The tables are clustered close together, a cozy situation that can feel a bit tight when the place is crowded. The main design elements include a wall of racked wine bottles, large modern paintings and smart black-and-white photographs of San Francisco. A cluster of tables on the sidewalk on warm nights lends some charm.

I Fratelli may lack the bells and whistles and, yes, some of the skills of its neighbors, but after a quarter-century of service this neighborhood Italian restaurant has proven its worth.

Overall: TWO STARS
Food: TWO STARS
Service: TWO STARS
Atmosphere: TWO STARS.
Prices: $$
Noise Rating: THREE BELLS
Pluses: Garlic bread and pastas are strong suits.
Minuses: Cozy but can feel a bit tight when the restaurant is crowded. Not
every dish shines as it should.
RATINGS KEY
FOUR STARS: Extraordinary
THREE STARS: Excellent
TWO STARS: Good
ONE STAR: Fair
(box): Poor .
$ Inexpensive: entrees under $10
$$ Moderate: $10-$17
$$$ Expensive: $18-$24
$$$$ Very Expensive: more than $25
Prices based on main courses. When entrees fall between these categories,
the prices of appetizers help determine the dollar ratings.
.
ONE BELL: Pleasantly quiet (under 65 decibels)
TWO BELLS: Can talk easily (65-70)
THREE BELLS: Talking normally gets difficult (70-75)
FOUR BELLS: Can only talk in raised voices (75-80)
BOMB: Too noisy for normal conversation (80+) .
Chronicle critics make every attempt to remain anonymous.
All meals are paid for by the Chronicle.
Star ratings are based on a minimum of three visits.
Ratings are updated continually based on a least one revisit.